A.N.

I just thought that I'd write this, in memory of Richard Griffiths, who did a fantastic job of portraying Vernon Dursley.

Not Really

He didn't hate the boy, per say, he just didn't like what he was.

All Vernon wanted was to protect his family, and Harry was defiantly family, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

The boy was a danger to his family, Vernon's family; his wife shakes with fear and anger every time he mentions his unnatural world, and his son is just terrified every time he walks in the room. It's quite hard not to notice the sudden change in Dudley behaviour when the word 'magic' is said, ever since that giant oaf decided it would be suitable to teach Dudley a lesson by magically sprouting a pigs tail out of Dudley's rear-end, and the time when those stupid red-headed twerps accidentally dropped those sweets that made his tongue swell up and extend 4 feet long.

He gave Harry a home, put food on his plate, clothes on his ungrateful back and how does Harry re-pay him? He always disobeyed him, he never listened to a word Vernon said, he runs away, blows up his sister and sends her flying off the Sheffield – he still has the bite marks on his leg from Ripper – and just basically causes havoc everywhere he goes, making Vernon's personal life feel like a chore.

I bet his parents were like that. Vernon's only met the Potter's once, and that was at the beginning of summer - after Petunia's sister finished her education at that freak school. He remembers them sometimes, the boy with his messy, jet-black hair and hazel eyes, hiding behind rectangular glasses, and his girlfriend, who became his wife within a few short months. It was hard to believe that she was Petunia's sister; dark, red, long hair and brilliant green eyes, as opposed to his wife's tall, skinny figure, blonde, curly hair in a bob and pale, blue eyes. They both may have looked normal, but they weren't, both of them had magic riddled in their blood, and they think it's normal to procreate and make more of these freaks! Harry looks like them, his father's untamed, dark hair, and ridiculously bad eye-sight, and his mother's eyes, and their freakish nature.

Just the thought of the boy's parents makes Vernon realise how much pain, suffering and danger the boy's been though all his life. His parents murder as a baby, his Godfather who was, too, murdered when he was fifteen, and the constant game of cat-and-mouse between Harry and this evil, dark wizard trying to kill Harry.

Now, currently standing outside his house – the one that he's lived in for 20 years – he dreads leaving it, he's changed his mind, time and time again, wondering whether leaving is the best move for his family. Petunia knows it is. Harry knows it is. And Dudley just goes along with what's being done.

Vernon wants nothing more than protection for his family. This includes Harry, ever since he was a baby, dumped on his doorstep, he has cared about Harry, but his sheer intolerance of magic makes him fear Harry. However, Harry isn't coming with them; he's sending his only living relatives away for their protection, so that he can save everyone from this awful wizard. Harry's saving them, and at a cost, he's is willing to lay down his life so that his world and Vernon's world are safe.

Vernon admires his bravery, he wishes that he could've done more for Harry so that he could have made Harry's life more ... Happier. Vernon's treated Harry like a second-classed citizen in his own house, and now Harry is saving him from being killed or tortured by dark wizards. He can't help but feel grateful.

He doesn't hate the boy, not really. He wishes that he could've done more.

A.N.

There ya go, a small one-shot about Vernon Dudley. RIP Richard Griffiths.